Our Young Folks' History of the Roman Empire ... illustrated

Preface

. If the aim of the author has been accomplished, the features of this book which adapt it to juvenile perusal are, that it is written in homely English, that it dwells very lightly upon those darker features of social life in the Roman empire which make a more detailed picture of that period unfit for young people, and that it avoids all controverted matters, especially where any sectarian interest may be at stake, or simply confines itself to those facts which are admitted to be true by all parties to the con troversy. No one can write the most unpretentious history of the Roman empire without acknowledging his indebtedness to Gibbon's masterly work. But I must also record my special obligations to the writings of Keightley, Curteis, Sheppard, Arnold, Thierry, and Cesare Cantu. WILLIAM SHEPARD. j CONTENTS.

CHAPTER PAGE I. — The Causes which led to the Formation of the Empire . . 1 1 II. — Caius Julius Cæsar Octavianus Augustus 23 III. — The Accession of Tiberius and the Revolt of the Legions . 44 IV. — The Military Operations during the Reign of Tiberius . . 55 V. — Affairs in Rome to the Death of Tiberius .... 68 VI. — Caius Julius Cæsar Caligula 92 VII. — Tiberius Claudius Drusus Cæsar ...... 101 VIII. — Nero Claudius Cæsar . . . . . . . .112 IX. — Servius Sulpicius Galba . . . . . . . .136 X. — Marcus Salvius Otho 143 XL— Aulus Vitellius . 14S XII. — Titus Flavius Vespasianus 15S XIII. — Titus Flavius Sabinus Vespasianus 165 XIV. — Titus Flavius Sabinus Domitianus . . . . . .170 XV. — Marcus Cocceius Nerva ...... .176 XVI. — Marcus Ulpius Trajanus Crinitus . . . . . 179 XVII.— Pius Ælius Hadrianus 187 XVIII. — Titus Aurelius Fulvius Boionius Antoninus Pius . . . 195 XIX. — Marcus Ælius Aurelius Antoninus ...... 197 XX. — Lucius Ælius Aurelius Commodus ...... CONTENTS. 6 PAGE

CHAPTER XXI.

— Pius Helvius Pertinax 2I3 XXII. — Marcus Didius Severus Julianus 217 XXIII. — Lucius Septimius Severus • ■ 221 XXIV. — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Caracalla .... 233 XXV.— Marcus Opilius Macrinus 239 XXVI. — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Elagabalus .... 244 XXVII. — Marcus Aurelius Alexander Severus 250 XXVIII. — Caius Julius Verus Maximinus 25S XXIX.— Maximus and Balbinus 267 XXX. — Marcus Antoninus Gordianus 268 XXXI. — Marcus Julius Philippus Augustus 271 XXXII. — Caius Messius Quintus Trajanus Decius .... 273 XXXIII. —Caius Vibius Trebonianus Gallus 275 XXXIV.— Caius Julius Æmilianus 276 XXXV. — Caius Publius Licinius Valerianus . 277 XXXVL— Pius Licinius Gallienus 2S2 XXXVII. — Marcus Aurelius Claudius 2S8 XXXVIII. — Lucius Domitius Aurelianus 292 XXXIX.— Marcus Claudius Tacitus 304 XL. — Marcus Aurelius Probus 30S XLI. — Marcus Aurelius Cams 316 XLII.

Marcus Aurelius Cnrinus and Marcus Aurelius Numerianus . 318 XLIIL— Caius Valerius Diocletianus 322 XI.IV. Flavius Valerius Constantius Chlorus and Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus 341 XLV.— The Six Augusti . . 343 XLVL— Constantine the Great sole Emperor 363 XLVIL— The Sons of Constantine 373 XLVIII. — Flavius Claudius Julianus, surnamed the Apostate . 3Si XLIX. — Jovianus Flavius Claudius CONTENTS. 7 CHAPTER - PAGE L. — Flavius Valentinianus and Flavius Valens ..... 401 LI. — Valens, Gratian, and Valentinian II. . . . . . 410 LII. — Theodosius Flavius and his Colleagues ..... 420 LIII. — Flavius Honorius ......... 441 LIV.— Valentinian III 458 LV.— The Fall of the Roman Empire LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Julius Cæsar ......... Frontispiece. Death of Brutus • 21 Antony and Cleopatra .......... 23 The Sports of the Circus . . . . . . . . .94 Capture of Caractacus . . • 107 The Coliseum ........... i6t Ruins of Pompeii . . . . . . . . • ■ .168 Arch of Trajan 1S6 Castle of St. Angelo, the Ancient Mausoleum of Hadrian . . .194 Capture of Philippopolis 274 The Voyage of the Goths 291 Arch of Constantine ......-•■■ 369 Battle of Maranga 392 Maximus before Theodosius 434 The Funeral of Alaric 456 Romulus Augustulus resigning the Crown OUR YOUNG FOLKS' HISTORY OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

Chapter I. The Causes Which Led To The Formation Of The Empire

In order properly to understand a history of the Roman empire, it is necessary to know something of the causes which led to the establishment of that form of government in Rome. You know, of course, that Rome was originally a small village, founded, or said to have been founded, by a man named Romulus, who gave it his name, and who ruled over it as its first king. You know also that he was followed by other kings, said to have been six in number. As the art of writing had not been acquired in those days, and as there were no historians to transmit an account of the reign of these kings to future ages, all that we know about them depends upon tradition only, or on accounts handed down from father to son, and it is very uncertain how much we are to believe and how much to reject. But we can be quite sure of one thing, that the reign of the kings came to an end about five hundred years before Christ, and that the form of government was then changed from a monarchy to a republic.

In other words, Rome was no longer ruled by magistrates who held their office for life, but by magistrates who held their THE CAUSES WHICH LED TO 12 office for only a year. These magistrates were two in number, and were called Consuls. They did not frame the laws, but they put into force the laws that were made by a body called the Senate, known also as the Conscript Fathers, who were chosen from among the people on account of their wisdom and ability. Difficulties soon arose between the patricians, or wealthy and powerful classes, and the plebeians, the poor working people. The consuls and the senators were always chosen from the former classes, in consequence of which the laws they made favored the rich and bore hardly upon the poor. The plebeians rebelled against this injustice, and, in order to still their clamors, it was agreed by the patricians that addi tional officers should be chosen from the plebeian ranks, whose special duties it should be to introduce measures for the relief of the poor, and to oppose all laws that were unfavorable to them.

These officers were called Tribunes. At first there were two of them, but the number was gradually increased to ten, and they rose to great importance in the state. This form of government continued, with only occasional interruptions, for nearly five centuries. At first it proved a great blessing to Rome. The obscure little village on the banks of the Tiber grew to be one of the mightiest states ever known in the history of the world. This was largely owing to the bravery and patriotism of its citizens, their simple and hardy manner of living, their freedom from the shocking vices that corrupted many of their neighbors, and their strong religious faith. The Romans, like many other ancient nations, from the earliest times looked upon themselves as a sort of chosen people. They thought that one of the greatest blessings a man could enjoy was to be a citizen of Rome.

They despised all other nations, and looked down upon them as barbarians. This patriotism, or pride of country, helped to make them brave and warlike, for they considered it a great disgrace to be con quered in battle by their enemies. It also made them con- THE FORMATION OF THE EMPIRE. 13 sider no reward so great as the public honor and applause which were bestowed upon a successful general or a great legis lator. The consuls always strove to make the year in which they held office as glorious as they could, in order to win glory for themselves; the generals were animated by a similar hope in fighting their battles; and they were all seconded in their efforts after good government and victorious warfare by the wisest and bravest of the young men in Rome, who knew that through the path of duty lay their own chance of be coming consuls, senators, or generals.

Moreover, the people believed there were gods above them who were interested in their doings, who fought on their side against their enemies, and who rewarded the brave and the good and punished the wicked and the cowardly. In course of time everything began to change. The Romans conquered province after province and country after country, until their dominions extended all over the southern part of Europe, over the lands now known as England and France and Spain and Germany and Switzerland and Italy and Turkey and Greece, and also over a part of Africa and of Asia. The institutions which had been framed for the city could not con tain the larger community. The minds and characters of the Romans changed. Their contact with foreign nations taught them that in many important respects some of the people they had conquered were superior to themselves.

For instance, the Greeks and the Egyptians were more highly civilized, and had brought the arts and sciences to a state of perfection which had been previously undreamed of in Rome. They therefore began to lose their narrow belief in themselves, their equally narrow contempt for others. With their narrow mindedness they lost a good deal of their patriotism. But one of the greatest causes for change among them was the gradual loss of belief in their gods and goddesses. As they grew wiser and more intelligent, they began to see how absurd, and even how wicked, were many of the stories THE CAUSES WHICH LED TO 14 about the deities whom their fathers had worshipped. It is true that this change was very gradual. Beliefs which have ever been held by any race of people are firmly rooted, and can be exterminated only by the slow progress of centuries.

At first only the wisest and most learned men began to doubt, and they kept their doubts to themselves. Then the men of education and intelligence learned to see the reasons why their religion could not be true, and at last unbelief spread to the lower classes. But it took several centuries to reach the latter; and, indeed, among the peasantry of Italy there still exist curious old superstitions which are relics of the pagan times. It was Christianity, of course, that gave the final death-blow to heathenism, but Christianity did not become the dominant faith in Rome until four hundred years after the death of its Founder. In the mean time, from about a century before the birth of Christ, many of the brightest and wisest of the Romans were without any real belief in religion, though most of them pretended to believe, and some of them even persuaded themselves that they did believe.

Now, when men have lost their faith in gods, they begin to worship godlike men, — that is, men who are greater or stronger or better than average humanity. They begin to see that they must have some one to look up to, to reverence, and to obey, if they wish to preserve the social order. For they know that they are prone to evil and must have some check upon their wicked passions. There are some men, indeed, so base and so foolish that they rejoice in evil for its own sake, and would rather see the world wicked than good. But, luckily, there are not many such. Even among those who do wrong, the majority, though they may be glad there is no God to punish them, would like to have a God that should punish their neighbor and keep him straight. The great body of evil-doers are weak rather than wicked.

They know that the world would be a far happier place if its inhab itants were better; they know that they themselves would be THE FORMATION OF THE EMPIRE. 15 happier if they were better. They therefore are glad to have laws to force them, and to force their neighbors, as far as pos sible, into the line of duty. But when these laws are no longer respected, even well-meaning men are apt to say to themselves, " I am willing to do right by my neighbor if my neighbor would do right by me; but, as he would be sure to treat me badly, I shall have to treat him in the same way." In this way laws fall into greater disrepute than ever, and people see the necessity of having some powerful ruler to make and enforce new laws. For even an unjust ruler and an unjust law are better than no ruler and no law.

Now, the state of things I have been trying to picture was exactly the state of things in the last century of the Roman republic. Men were gradually losing their religion and their patriotism, the two great forces that had ripened their virtues and restrained their vices. They lost their simple ways of living, and revelled in all kinds of wickedness. They cared nothing for the good will and respect of their fellow-citizens. They cared only for money, which bought them power and place as well as the means of gratifying their passions. Needy adventurers sold their votes to the highest bidder, or their swords to the general from whom they had most to expect. In this way bad men rose to the chief offices in the state. The government became utterly corrupt. For the wealthy Roman, indeed, there was scarcely any law.

No matter how guilty he might be, if only he had money enough he had a good chance of being acquitted. This state of things was deplored even by those who had been most active in bringing it about. They knew in their hearts that their simpler and nobler ancestors had been far happier than themselves. They felt that they were on the' brink of a dangerous precipice, and they would have been glad of some great force that should bring about a restoration of the old days. But the onward march of events could not be arrested. The old days could not come back again. THE CAUSES WHICH LED TO Everything, therefore, was ready for a mighty change. Everything was ready for the advent of a new form of gov ernment that should be adapted to the new order of things. The republic, the government of the people by the people, the rule of the many, was doomed, and the one-man power was to take its place.

People were dimly conscious of this. They were looking for a coming hero who should deliver them from the evil and degenerate days upon which they had fallen. They had heard undoubtedly from the Jews of their expected Messiah ; their own Sibylline books contained prophecies of a similar import. As early as the beginning of the first century before Christ, a man named Marius had become the idol of the people, especially of the common people or plebeians, had been made con sul seven times, and for a period was as absolute master of Rome as any monarch could have been. His enemy, Sylla, who had risen to be the favorite of the patricians, succeeded him in the supreme power in the state, and was made dictator, an office which in all but name was equal to that of king. A few years afterwards Pompey was the chief ruler in the state, but he met with a powerful rival in the person of Julius Cæsar, was defeated at the battle of Pharsalia (b.c. 48), and soon after lost his life.

Julius Cæsar was the greatest of all the Romans. Some historians consider him the greatest man that ever lived. He was great as a soldier, as a popular leader, as a statesman, and as a writer. He was a man whose aims were generally lofty and noble, who, though sometimes severe, was rarely cruel or unjust, who was capable of the most generous and high-souled deeds. In every respect he seemed to be the man for the occasion. He was gladly hailed as such by the greater part of the Roman people. There is little room for doubt that his mighty genius saved the commonwealth from dismemberment. His victorious arms carried terror to its enemies. His pre-eminence among his own countrymen prevented it from being torn to J B LIPPINCOTT COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA. THE FORMATION OF THE EMPIRE. 17 pieces by the civil wars of rival pretenders, who would un doubtedly have arisen under a lesser man.

But his fault, or perhaps it would be better to say his mistake, was that he was too ambitious, and that he was not able to disguise his ambi tion. In this last respect Augustus, the first emperor, was his superior. Cæsar refused the crown, it is true, when some of his most zealous adherents offered it to him, but he refused it in such a way that many saw he would have gladly accepted it were it not for his fear of committing an unpopular act. For though the great mass of the people were ready to give him the kingly power, though they were willing to make him Dictator for life, they were not yet ready to give him the kingly title. They were still too much wedded to the old institutions under which Rome had won its glory among the nations to be willing to give up the forms of those institu tions.

The old names must be retained, even if the spirit had departed out of them. Long after the death of Cæsar, for in stance, tnder the most despotic of its emperors, Rome con tinued to be called a republic, and the old names of tribune and consul, though not their power, were retained. In the time of Cæsar there were even many good and earnest and thoughtful men who wanted more than this. They wanted not only the old names, but the old institutions also. They could not read the signs of the times, they could not see that a new era was approaching which called for new measures; they knew only that the republic had been great and powerful under its old form of government, and they believed that the continuance of that form of government was necessary to a con tinuance of its power. In the ambition of Cæsar, therefore, they saw a menace to the safety of their country.

Marcus Brutus was the noblest and most unselfish of these men. Though he was beloved by Cæsar and loved him in return, he determined to sacrifice everything to the love he bore his country. With Cassius and Casca, and other men who thought as he did, he THE CAUSES WHICH LED TO [B.C. 44. organized a conspiracy, which ended in the death of Cæsar (b.c. 44). No greater calamity could have befallen the country which they wished to save. Immediately after the death of Cæsar three great parties threatened to dismember the state with their disputes, — the party of Brutus and his fellow-conspirators, who wished to restore the old order of things ; the party of Marc Antony and Lepidus, the friends of Cæsar, who wished to avenge his death and rule in his place ; and the party of Octavius Cæsar, the grandnephew of Julius and his appointed heir, who wished to claim his own inheritance.

Marc Antony was in Rome at the time of Cæsar's death. By a well-timed and very able speech he succeeded in rousing public indignation against the conspirators, who deemed it best to withdraw from the city. Antony for a period had full sway in Rome, and, with the help of Lepidus (who was the brother of Brutus the conspirator), he made many changes in the government. These were not generally satisfactory, but none of the senators dared to oppose him except Cicero, who made many speeches full of burning eloquence that hurt and angered Marc Antony, but otherwise seemed at first to fail of their object. Antony, however, soon found that he had a more dangerous enemy than Cicero in the person of Octavius, who was so young (he was then only nineteen) and so obscure that he had hardly thought of him as dangerous at all.

Octavius was in Apollonia, prosecuting his studies, when he heard of his uncle's death. He at once came to Rome to claim the property that had been left him. To his surprise, he found that Antony had seized it himself. He found also that An tony had failed to carry out other provisions in the will of Cæsar, leaving large sums of money to the citizens of Rome, and that he had grown to be very unpopular. Octavius was shrewd and calculating. He curried favor with the people by promising that they should have their rights, and even by paying some of the legacies out of his own private fortune. B.C. 44-43.] THE FORMA TLON OF THE EMPIRE. 19 He made large gifts to the soldiers, who were already inclined to look kindly upon him as the heir and the adopted son of their great commander. He allied himself with Cicero, who now redoubled the energy and bitterness of his speeches.

By all these means he acquired so much power that during the absence of Antony, who was besieging Decimus Brutus, one of the conspirators, at Mutina, a city in Cisalpine Gaul, or northetn Italy, he gained over the legions in Rome, caused the senate to declare Antony a public enemy, and advanced to the assistance of Decimus Brutus, thinking it best to use one enemy to destroy another. In a great battle (b.c. 43) Antony was defeated and put to flight. Octavius was now master of Rome and its environs, and, in spite of his youth, he obliged the senate to make him a consul. The rest of the empire was divided up among various factions. Decimus Brutus, by the defeat of Antony, had been secured in the possession of Cisalpine Gaul, which he seemed inclined to hold for his own benefit. Antony himself, who through his friend Lepidus had obtained the aid of the governors of Gaul and Germany, was again at the head of a powerful army, and was master of those two provinces.

Brutus and Cassius held Syria and Macedonia, and were still dreaming of the restoration of the republic to its original simplicity. Sextius Pompey, a son of the great Pompey, had seized upon the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. In this state of things Octavius saw that his position was a very critical one. Still pretending to be an ally of Decimus Brutus, he advanced to meet Antony, who had invaded Italy at the head of seventeen legions of soldiers. A legion was what we should now call a division. It consisted of about ten thousand men. What we call a regiment the Romans called a cohort. When the two armies came in sight of each other, Octavius unmasked his real projects. He held a conference with Antony and Lepidus, and it was decided that the three should join together and endeavor to attain the mastery of the entire THE CAUSES WHICH LED TO [B.C. 43. 20 Roman empire.

They should divide the provinces between them, assist each other in their wars, name all the consuls and tribunes for the next five years, and gain the favor of the soldiers by giving them the land of the citizens. The enemies of each were to be executed by the co'mmon consent of all three, and no ties of friendship or of blood were to inter fere with these executions. A list of the proscribed was accordingly drawn up, and in this list were the names of an uncle of Antony's, of Marcus Brutus, the brother of Lepidus, and of Cicero, the friend of Octavius. t It is certain that Octavius had been revolving a plan of this kind for some time, as before placing himself at the head of his army he had caused the senate to revoke the enact ment declaring Antony a public enemy, and to pass another law condemning instead the murderers of Cæsar.

The union of the three allies was called the triumvirate. They at once repaired to Rome, their soldiers took posses sion of the city, and one of the tribunes in their army was obliged to propose to the senate that the triumvirate should be established by law. As no one dared oppose this, the cruel work of executing all whose names were on the pro scribed list was at once begun. The streets of Rome flowed with blood. We are told that three hundred senators, two thousand of the higher order of citizens, and very many even of the lower orders fell without a hand being lifted to protect them, or a voice raised in their defence. The triumvirs were now at liberty to turn their attention against their common enemies. As soon as the triumvirate had been established, the legions under Decimus Brutus, eight in number, had deserted from his standard.

He himself was slain by Camillus, a Gaul, to whom he had fled for refuse, and whom he had formerly loaded with benefits, and his head was sent to Antony. Marcus Brutus and Cassius, how ever, were still formidable in the East. They had seventeen legions^ under their commands, who were devoted to their DEATH OF BRUTUS. Page si. B.C. 42-41 .] THE FORMATION OF THE EMPIRE. 21 cause. Antony and Octavius, leaving Lepidus behind them to take care of the government at Rome, put themselves at the head of the legions and advanced into Macedonia. At a place called Philippi they met the combined forces of Brutus and Cassius (b.c. 42). The armies on both sides were divided into two, Brutus fighting against Octavius, and Cassius against Antony. Brutus was successful, and put the army of Octavius to flight, but Cassius, less fortunate, was routed by Antony.

Then Brutus sent some of his troops to the assistance of Cas sius, but the latter mistook them for a part of the enemy's forces, gave up his cause for lost, and threw himself upon a sword. Brutus gathered the troops together and withdrew from the field in good order. About twenty days later he gave battle again, and this time was completely defeated. He fled from the field, and soon after killed himself. Octavius went back to Italy, while Antony remained in the East, for it was part of the agreement that he should rule over this part of the empire. Lepidus, meanwhile, went to Africa, where his share of the dominions lay. There is little doubt that Octavius had long before determined to seize the first opportunity for making himself the sole ruler of the Roman dominions, and the conduct of his allies seemed to show that the task would not be a very difficult one.

Lepidus was a feeble old man, and when he retired to his province he was speedily lost sight of by the people of Rome. Antony soon sunk into vice and luxury. Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, one of the most beautiful women that ever lived, had been summoned to come and meet him at Tarsus, to answer for the assistance she had given to Brutus and Cassius. Know ing that she was guilty, and could say nothing in defence of herself, she determined to disarm her conqueror by the charms of her beauty. She succeeded in fascinating him so com pletely that he accompanied her back to Alexandria, where he gave himself up to luxury and idleness and neglected all the cares of government. His wife, Fulvia, tried to reclaim THE FORMATION OF THE EMPIRE. [b.c 40-3 1. 22 him, but in vain, and her grief and anger probably hastened her death, which happened soon after.

At last, in B.C. 40, Antony was induced to leave Cleopatra and come to Rome, where he married Octavia, the sister of Octavius, an excellent lady, who was far too good for him. He also assisted Octavius in a war against Sextius Pompey, in Sicily; but, as this was not successful, he refused to join him in a second war against the same rival. Octavius was very angry at this refusal, and would have come to an open rupture with his ally had it not been for his sister's influence. In B.C. 37, however, a new triumvirate was established on the same conditions as before, which was to continue five more years. The next year Octavius's admiral, Vipsanius Agrippa, gained a great victory over the fleet of Sextius Pompey, who fled to Asia and was soon afterwards put to death there. In the same year Octavius had succeeded in getting Lepidus out of his way.

Lepidus had been assisting him against Sextius Pompey. Octavius bribed all his soldiers to leave him, and then deposed him from the triumvirate. Lepidus, however, does not seem to have minded his fall very much. He went to Rome, where the dignity of supreme pontiff or chief priest was conferred upon him, and he contentedly held this office until his death in B.C. 13. Antony could not bear to stay away long from Cleopatra, and after living for a little over a year in Rome he returned to his own province, on pretence of conducting a war against the Parthians. He was not very successful, but he cared little for this, as his one desire in life was to return to Cleopatra. He soon made peace, and then flew to the Queen of Egypt. He married her after having publicly divorced his rightful wife. This insult was more than Octavius could bear.

War was declared. Large fleets were raised on both sides, and Octa vius, with his admiral, Agrippa, met the ships of Antony and Cleopatra off the cape of Actium (b.c. 31). While the result ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. Page 23. B.C. 31-30.] AUGUSTUS. 23 of the battle still hung in doubt, Cleopatra, either through sudden fear or through preconcerted treachery, sailed away. Antony, deserted by the Egyptian vessels, was forced to flee also. His ship caught up with that of Cleopatra, who suf fered him to get on board. But for a long time he refused to speak to her, remaining in the stern of the vessel, with his face buried in his hands, a prey to fierce and gloomy thoughts. At last his love conquered his anger, and he consented to forgive Cleopatra. The loss of the battle of Actium proved the death-blow to the power of Antony.